I thought that I had found most of the interesting Ukrainian adoption books. Well.... I found a few more.

Starting with a classic. I cannot believe that I failed to mention this one. It is a great book for adoptive families that are just getting started and exploring their options. It is used as a reference book for many adoptive families.

The Russian Adoption Handbook: How to Adopt... more

I know that families are switching from Ukraine to Guatemala, China and South Korea. These countries have fairly consistent processing and it is possible to adopt young children/babies.

When I sat down I noticed the lady across from me had an asian boy, about 5 years old, with her. Neat!

So then later after she and the boy go back to see the dr., her hubby comes around the corner (had been talking on his cell) and sits down across from me. After about 5 minutes he asks me if we are adopting from China. I say yes....blah blah blah....

Come... more

I am hoping this means Ukrainian adoption will start in early July. This is the first time that the SDA has released anything officially.

Up until now it has all been rumors......

The US Embassy in Kyiv send the following email.

Subject: Important Notice to Adoption Community - June 14,2006 Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 13:45:12 +0300

Dear Members of the American Adoption Community Interested in Ukraine:

The Embassy has received a diplomatic note dated June 6, 2006 from the Consular Department of the Ministry... more

Joe Sharkey works for the New York Times. He recently flew from New York to Kyiv on Delta and really liked it. He traveled just to try out the business class service.

YOU'RE where?" my friend asked.

"Kiev"

"What are you doing in Kiev?"

"Trying out a new business-class service on Delta. I left New York last night, got to Kiev this afternoon, and fly back home tomorrow morning."

My friend replied, "You have very bizarre travel habits."

True. But lots of business travelers put in this kind of grind — and, unlike me, many do it routinely, as business increasingly becomes global, and the time to get it done shrinks.

................

My... more

Here are some Ukrainian Adoption books of interest. I haven't read all of them. But reading does help the time pass.

Finding Yasha : An Adoption Journey To Ukraine by Mickey & Len Sirowitz is Spiral-bound. Amazon.com is selling the book for $25.99. It was published May 11, 2006.

Yasha was adopted from Cherkassy.

FINDING YASHA is a very personal account of a shared family experience. It all began with a son's... more

Several people have emailed me (adoptukraineblog@adoptionmail.com) and asked if I have heard any more rumors. Or when will the SDA accept dossiers? Or will the restrictions on Americans who are filing new dossiers (only allowed to adopt child 10 years or older) be removed?

My last post on this subject was May 22, 2006.

I have heard the SDA is moving forward at a good pace. The new employees need to finish their training. The SDA building's security needs to be... more

There are between 1,000 and 500 American, French, Canadian, Italian, Ukrainian, Israeli and Spanish families waiting for appointments to adopt Ukrainian children. There are different guesses floating around from Ukrainian faciliators, people who visited the NAC, past adoption numbers, etc....

Guesses based on guesses. Ukraine is a country that runs on rumors. And often the rumors are accurate. Unless they are completely wrong. :)

There are rumors that the SDA is hiring more... more

I found a good article on adopting via hosting. It is Russian focused, but it can also apply to hosting an Ukrainian child.

It appears that hosting costs (even when you adopt) cannot deducted for charity reasons or for the adoption tax credit.

Another tidbit... There is an email list that focuses on all aspects of hosting. It has been around since 2004.

Here are some hosting programs for Ukrainian orphans.

Adopt a Child

I cannot find anything on the web site... more

I wrote about the negatives related to hosting an Ukrainian child. Hosting is one way that adoptive parents can get to know a child before adopting them.

Here are some positives

Health: In many host programs the children get access to dentists and doctors.

Dental health is a major concern for many adoptive families. Here is a blog from a family who hosted from Russia. Search... more

An email acquaintance recently suggested that the best way to adopt an older child from Ukraine was to host them. There are many programs that bring children to the United States for hosting AKA vacation.

There are negatives with hosting:

The children are being brought over for a short vacation. And not all the children will be available for adoption. The Ukrainian government retains sole adoption authority. Just because you hosted a child and the child is available for international adoption... Doesn’t mean you will be able to adopt the... more